Syracuse, NY - As members of the Onondaga Community College women's basketball team waited Sunday for a chance to help cut down the net at Allyn Hall, several of the Lazers were nibbling on red licorice sticks.

Call it the sweet taste of victory.

Jenn Deuel (32) of Onondaga Community College shoots over Monae Abrams of Fulton-Montgomery CC during Sunday's Region 3 Championship Game.Charles Wainwright | Onondaga Community College

The win sends the Lazers (29-4) to the NJCAA Elite Eight in Rochester, Minn., in two weeks in search of the school's first women's basketball title. Head coach Mike Wheeler's squad has advanced to three of the past five Final Fours.

"I'm so happy for them," Wheeler said. "They played so well today. A lot of these kids never won a Section III title in high school and now they have a chance to play for a national title."

The Raiders (21-5) presented the stiffest challenge of the weekend for Onondaga. Sophomore forward Monae Abrams took her power game directly at the front line of the Lazers and classmate Kassandra Powers was willing to launch from anywhere.

Forward Amanda Marcely (Bishop Grimes) had the unenviable task of banging bodies with the bigger Adams, who totaled 24 points and 14 rebounds and was named to the all-tournament team. The sophomore fared well, drawing a couple of charges and clogging lanes to the basket with the help of her teammates.

"It was pretty intense," said Marcely, who finished with seven points and 13 rebounds. "She's pretty good down low."

In addition, coach Kevin Jones tried to take the air out of the ball and use a much of the 30-second shot clock as he could -- a nod to the fact that Onondaga's high-octane offense averages better than 90 points per game.

The Lazers led by five at the half and they saw it shrink to 39-37 about 1:30 into the second. That's when Roy turned on the juice and ignited her team's offense, much like she did in Saturday's semifinal win.

Roy hit a 3-pointer, sank a pair of free throws and then made a long jumper from the corner to push the Onondaga lead to 46-39. Less than two minutes later, Kayla Kibling (Bishop Ludden) buried a three before making a play that electrified the crowd and spelled the beginning of the end for the Raiders.

Kibling lobbed the ball over the FM defense to a streaking Allie Taylor (Hannibal), who completed the alley-oop with a layin that gave Onondaga a 53-43 lead. Roy then splashed another three at the 13:39 mark and the Raiders called time out.

"One of the officials told me they had never seen that in a women's game," said Wheeler after his team extended its winning streak to 18 games.

Flowers left the game with an injury after colliding with the Lazers' Deuel (Whitesboro) near mid-court at the 10:31 mark. She did return, but she appeared hobbled.

After he cut the final cords on the net, Wheeler shouted to his team and gathered family members what everyone already knew: "We're going to the Big Dance." And while winning has become commonplace under Wheeler, every team is different. He said he likes this team's competitive desire and work ethic.

"It's kind of unreal," Roy said. "This is something we have been dreaming about all season. We're going to have a couple days of rest and then we are going to come back ready to work and win a national title."

Roy was joined on the all-tournament team by Kibling, who had 12 points in the final, and Taylor, who rebounded nicely from a foul-plagued outing in the semis to score 17 points. The unsung Deuel had 10 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists.

Samantha Hall of Schenectady County CC and Alyssa Crosby of Jefferson rounded out the team.